A Reunion of a Father and Daughter
by rosegirl220
Summary: Helen has never really knew her father, but, thanks to a school assignment Ted brings home, she decides it's time she knew who he was. Will the person be who she suspected? Or will she be taken by surprise? Rated: K
1. A question that gets everyone asking

The sun was just rising over a now pro-tree city named Thneedville. It was a time where the nite shift hadn't quit ended, but the morning shift hadn't quit started either. Even children who always got up early to watch Saturday morning cartoons also were still sound asleep. It seemed almost everyone in town was still in a deep state of slumber.

That was, of course, except for a certain mother of the boy who had brought Truffula trees back into existence.

Her name was Helen Wiggins, and she was currently leaning over her kitchen counter looking out the nearby window. She was wearing a pink bath robe with a cup of freshly made coffee in her favorite green mug. The curly brown-haired women was currently looking out to the spot where, just two months earlier, the oak-a-matic artificial tree was standing proudly with it's fake leaves and disco feature which she had adored so. But, now in it's place, stood a mid-sized pink Truffula tree surrounded by patches of actual growing green grass. Don't get her wrong, she was glad nature was finally coming back, but...she just missed dancing to the other tree's lights and music.

_It's almost scary how much has changed in so little time._ Helen thought as she took a sip from her green mug.

And this was true. Thneedville had gone from a plastic paradise to a nature-loving utopia almost over nite once they saw the remains of the previous Truffula forest. In addition to replacing all fake trees with real ones; the towns people also tore up plastic lawns to make way for grass. The people also down-graded many cars plus closed quit a number of buildings so pollution sent into the air was cut down dramatically, made sure O'Hare Air was closed down permanently, (much to the fury of the former mayor - emphasis on _former_) and had taken to self-reliance without the help of so many machines and other devises they had come to know pretty quickly.

Just as Helen got into thought; someone walking into the kitchen pulled her out of it.

"Hey mom." her son Ted, (his full name was Theodore, but he seemed more comfortable being called Ted) who was surprisingly not dressed in his pajamas and in his regular stripped T-shirt with jeans for it being a Saturday morning, greets as he took a seat at the nearby kitchen table.

"Well, your up early for a Saturday." Helen observes, walking over and taking a seat across from her son at the table. "Couldn't you sleep?"

"Yeah, I could, but I had to get up early because me and Audrey have plans for an early morning study secession for this big Algebra test next Monday. Then after we're gonna go catch an early show at the multiplex down town." Ted responds, sighing dreamily once he had told her about the part where him and Audrey were going to the movies. Helen then smirks teasingly, and was about to do the normal motherly; "Is this girl your girlfriend?" speech she'd already given her son a few times. Of course, she just decided to skip it, and ask the other normal mom question.

"Alright then, but did you get the homework you said you got yesterday finished?" she asks in a slightly more serious tone. "Just because it's the weekend doesn't mean you get to slack off mister."

"Yeah, yeah, I know..." Ted says - getting a guilty expression. Helen notices this, and raises an eyebrow in suspicion.

"Theodore, tell the truth." she says a bit warningly.

"...okay, so...I may have not done my homework." Ted admits. "But there's a perfectly good explanation for why I didn't do it! I swear!" Helen then gives her son a "Go on." look, and Ted sighs. "You see...the homework was in Science class, and we have to make this Home-Evolution chart. It's basically where you have to write out what traits your grandparents most passed down to your own parents, and then what they passed down to you. I mean...I know what traits I got from you and dad, but...I don't exactly know what traits you got from your parents." Helen was taken by surprise. That was actually a pretty good answer, but...in secret, she could only answer half of it.

"Well...um...I got my curly hair from my mom, or, to you, your grandma." Helen starts off - putting on a misleading smile.

"Yeah, but...what about grandpa?" Ted asks persistently. "I mean...I've never actually seen him. Did you get your eye color from him? Your height? Certain characteristics?" Helen cringes slightly at the G-word. Grandfather...

"Um...Ted...I..." Helen started out. But, luckily, she was saved quit literally by the bell. The door bell, that is.

"Sorry mom, that's Audrey!" Ted exclaims, hopping up from his seat. "I gotta go! Promise I'll do that assignment as soon as I get home! Love you, bye!" he then practically scrambles out of the kitchen, and, in the other room, the door is hear opening before quickly being shut again. Helen then sighs in a certain relief, and begins thinking about what had just happened.

Grandfather...her father...she never really knew who her father was. All she remembered of him was fuzzy memories of a blurred mans smiling face, laughing, and, most of all, the color green oddly enough. Then the memories of her and her grandmother living in Thneedville was all she could remember clearly. But that wasn't even the weirdest part of it! Whenever she would ask her own mother where and who her father was; she'd get real depressed and quiet. Helen eventually learned not to ask about him, and the matter never seemed to come up again.

That was...until Ted's assignment re-surfaced her curiosity.

"There's gonna be a way to find him just so I can know who he is." Helen says to herself - strumming her finger on the table with one hand, and resting her head in the other. "I mean...I know I'm my mothers daughter, and I _have_ to have a father somewhere. Maybe I could go to the library, and...look him up in the directory..." Helen then thinks for a few moments, but then sighs I defeat. "Oh, who am I kidding? That idea is stupid. And how do I even know he's still alive? I can't just go from graveyard to graveyard looking or him if he has passed. I should just give up." The curly haired women then huffs in frustration, and looks into the steaming black liquid still in her mug on the table. "But...I need to know who he is...I haven't for so long..."

It then suddenly occurred to her that, even if she didn't know who her father was, she did know someone who does. In fact...that someone lived in the very same house as her.

"I really hate to do it," Helen sighs. "But I've been in the dark about who my real father is for to long. I'm gonna find out today who he is, and that is that!" she then rises from her seat with new found confidence. She then hurries upstairs, quickly changes into her usually Light-purple full length dress and dark-purple mini-jacket. She then goes into the living room, sits on the couch, and patiently begins playing the ever-hated waiting game for a certain someone to wake up.

Then again, she had to remember her mom was getting up there in age, and couldn't move as fast as she once could.


	2. Deja Vu

The clock on the wall read that the time was a quarter after nine, but Helen's mother had still yet to come downstairs – signaling she was still asleep.

_Maybe I need to go check on here..._Helen ponders, but, almost as soon as she thinks it, her mother comes down the stairs. Her now-gray hair was in a mess of curls as always, and she was wearing her favorite lime-green dress with a small pink pull-over jacket that had a lighter pink flower-petal like pattern around it's collar. Helen then hopped off the couch, and went to the bottom of the steps to greet her mother when she got there.

"Well hello, Helen." her mother greeted once she she got to the bottom of the stairs.

"Mom!" Helen exclaimed seeing her mother finally awake and downstairs. "Good morning!"

"Well, someone is in a good mood this morning." Helen's mother, Norma, says teasingly. "I take it someone woke up on the good side of the bed?"

"Your a laugh riot mom." Helen says a little dryly. She then remembers her personal mission to find her father, and changes her expression to a more serious one and it was mixed with a nervous under-tone. "Um...Mom...I...have something very important to ask you." Norma seemed surprised at first, but then smiles in understanding at her daughter.

"What is it hon?" Norma asks her daughter sweetly.

Helen then takes a deep breath, and goes for it. "Look...I don't _exactly _know how to ask this, so...I'm just coming out with it. Mom...who is my father?" the understanding expression Norma once had vanished from her face almost instantly at the words. Helen then kept her gaze locked on her mom, and, in turn, Norma turned her gaze to the floor. "Mom...please give me a answer."

"Um...oh, would you look at the time." Norma suddenly exclaims looking up at the nearby wall clock. "I've got to go down to the library for my...weekly sewing circle. Yeah, that's it. Well, I must be off." Norma then tries to walk past her daughter, but Helen put a hand on Norma's shoulder before she could.

"Mom, me and you both know you hate sewing." Helen says with a heavy sigh. "Please...I've went my whole life without knowing my father, and...I'd at least like to know who the guy is. Besides, I thought we were always honest with each other." Norma then gets a guilty look, but then sighs very heavily.

"Sweetie...you know I would never keep secrets from you." Norma begins slowly. "But...there's a reason I never told you about your father. And...I just don't know if you'd be able to handle to truth."

"Mom, I'm a grown women." Helen says a bit frustrated. "Of course I can handle the truth. And I really do wanna know who my father is. So...please...tell me who my father is?"

Norma gets a momentary silence between the two, but then Norma sighs in defeat. "Your right dear. Your right. I just have to remember your all grown up, and...can handle tough truths." Norma then smiles up at her daughter, and takes her hand gently. "Come on, let's talk over a little breakfast. You can set the table, and I'll cook."

"Sure you don't want my help mom?"

"No, I can handle it." Norma reassures her daughter. "You know, just because I'm old doesn't mean I forgot how to do things."

"I know mom." Helen replies with a sincere smile. "I just have a habit of asking." Norma then smiles up at her daughter once more, and the two head off to the kitchen.

Once there; Norma heads directly for the cabinets while Helen goes to set the table. Norma then takes out a medium sized bowl, a frying pan, one container of cinnamon, a spatula and a whisk that was from the drawer. Next the resilient old women went to the refrigerator, poked around in it for a moment, and then took out an...odd assortment of items. Eggs, flour, butter, and the whole container of milk. Norma then cracks two eggs into the bowl, pours a cup of milk along with it,(putting it back once she was finished with it) a cup of flour, a half a stick of butter, and a dash of cinnamon. And, lastly, Norma begins to stir the ingredients with whisk. All the while – Helen, who had already set two places at the family dinner table, is watching her with no idea what her mother was doing or even making.

"Mom...what are you making?" Helen asks trying to keep the amusement out of her voice.

"What does it look like?" Norma asks without even turning to look at Helen. "I'm making us some pancakes. Now, sit at the table. Breakfast will be ready in a few minutes."

"Oh...alright." Helen says – doing as her mother said and taking a seat at the table.

Norma then started to pour bits of batter onto the frying pan, and puts it over the stove. In minutes, the aroma of the pancakes filled the kitchen. Helen takes in a nose-full of it, and...she swear the scent if familiar to her. Even though...she doesn't remember smelling it once before.

_Why do the pancakes smell so...familiar..?_ Helen wonders as her mother is finishing making breakfast.

"Alright, pancakes are ready." Norma announces as she walks the frying pan over to the table. She then scoops up the four she had made in the frying pan, and puts them on Helen's plate. "There you go."

"But...mom...shouldn't you have some?" Helen asks becoming slightly worried for her mother.

"Oh no, I made these for you." Norma informs her daughter with a slight smile. "Besides, all I really want now is coffee. Want me to get you a drink while I'm up?"

"Coffee as well, please." Helen responds.

Norma then goes over to the counter for the coffee, and Helen decides to take an experimental bite of her mothers pancakes. She then sticks her fork into the first pancake, and cuts the part off of it with her nearby fork. She then puts the piece of the pancake in her mouth, and...an odd occurrence happened. The taste that she expected to be foreign actually tasted familiar. The slight hint of cinnamon...the smooth way the pastry went down your throat...everything seemed to bring of feelings of deja vu.

Suddenly, a scene began to play in Helen's mind.

_She was sitting at a round table that seemed to large for the room, (then again, everything in the house was unnecessarily big) and a plate of pancakes similar to what her mother had made were in front of her. A one-year old Helen then shoves a fork-full of the pancakes into her mouth, and giggles happily at the taste. Suddenly, a young version of her mother came into view just across the large table. _

"_She's definitely your blood daughter Oncie" the younger Norma says a bit teasingly. "I think you officially made her into a pancake fanatic" _

"_Is that such a bad thing?" a male voice beside the younger Helen asks just as teasingly._

_The young Helen then looks over, and, suddenly, the blurred face she had seen for so many years in her memories was clear as a bell. He had a pail skin tone, and straight back hair fashioned in a "ready for business" manner. He wore a green suit with black pants that had a gold chain dipping out from the left pocket, and, to top it off, a tall green hat laced with a black felt around the rim. The young Helen then smiles, and she squeals out "Daddy" happily._

_Then, suddenly, the scene fades out..._

"Helen?" her mother asks, pulling her daughter out of her thoughts. "Helen? Are you okay hon?" Helen then blinks, and processes that her mother was now sitting next to her at the table."

"Yeah...never better mom." she clarifies as to not worry her mother. So, secretly afraid of another vision like the one she just had, she pushes the pancakes aside. "I'm honestly not really that hungry..." she then reaches over for the coffee her mom had placed into her favorite mug, (she'd apparently set it there when she had spaced out) and gingerly took a sip from it.

"Okay then." Norma says. She then sighs a bit heavily, and takes a quick sip from her coffee as well. "So...what all would you like to know about your father?"

Helen didn't even have to think about it. "Everything."

Norma sighs in defeat for the second time that day, and begins a little slowly. "Alright. Well...he was a very tall, inventive man. His mind was always coming up with new ideas, but people would always criticize his invention...no matter how good it was. Of course, he didn't really let it get to him. He always kept trying, and...that says a lot." Norma then goes on for a couple more minutes about her father, but...somehow, Helen felt as though she needed a little more explanation.

Like, for why he was never around for her childhood. Was it because he didn't like her? Did something happen to make him not be there? Or...was it because of something totally different?

"And that's basically all I can tell you about him." Norma concludes. Helen then frowns slightly.

"So...why was he never around?" Helen finally asks the question on her mind. "Was it because he didn't even wan to have me, or...?" Norma smiles sympathetically, and shakes her head.

"No. It's nothing like that Helen." Norma reassures her. "Your father loved you very much, but...the reason he wasn't around is apart of a bigger story. And I had promised him a long time ago that...I'd let him be the one to tell it. It was the only thing he ever wanted me to keep secret, so...I must honor his wishes." Helen then lets out a quiet "Oh" before going silent. Norma then gets an expression as if she's remembered something, and reaches into her pink jacket. "I almost forgot. I have a picture of him here." she then pulls out a picture, and holds it out for Helen.

Interested, Helen took the picture, and the people in the picture...was the exact same ones from that scene she had seen earlier. The man in the green suit had a younger version of Helen on his lap, and Norma was sitting right next to him – resting her head lightly on his shoulder.

"Is this...him?" Helen asks, staring at the picture in disbelief.

"Yes...that's him. His name is The Once-ler, and we took that when you were just one years old." Norma tells her. Helen then stares at the picture for a moment more, and then looks up at her mother in surprise. She then realizes...all those stories her mother told her about this man named Once-ler which she had thought were obviously fabricated were...all true.

"So...those stories you told me when I was younger...were-"

"Real?" Norma finishes her sentence for her. She then nods. "Yes, they were."

"Mom...I'm...so sorry." Helen apologizes sincerely – feeling terrible for not believing her mother's stories. "I always thought you made those stories up...but this picture proves he really does exist. I should have believed you before..."

"It's really okay dear." Norma says laughing slightly. "I know how you think just because I'm old you think I'm losing my marbles." Helen then lets out an embarrassed laugh before giving a quick sorry. The two women then both seem to take another sip from their coffee, and fall into a silence. Of course, Helen's mother broke it by asking a question Helen wasn't even expecting.

"Would you like to go meet him?"

Helen gasps slightly, ad blinks at her mother. "So...you mean...he's still-"

"Alive?" Norma finishes her daughters sentence once again. "Yes, he is. Helen, exactly how old do you think me and your father are?" even though her tone was teasing, Helen couldn't help but feel bad.

"Well...um, I don't really know." Helen says a bit flustered – obviously embarrassed. "But, yes, _yes _I would love to meet him! Please!" Norma then smiles slightly, as if knowing her daughters answer before hand, and hops down from her seat at the table.

"Alright then." Norma says. "We better get collecting then." at this, Helen raises a brow in confusion.

"Collecting?" Helen asks slowly. "Collecting what?"

"What else?" Norma asks without a seconds hesitation. She then turns to her daughter, and says seriously. "Fifty-cents, a nail, and the shell of a great-great-_great _grandfather snail."


	3. Everything comes into light

"Mom...what are we doing all the way out here?" Helen asks as she nervously scans the barren area around here as she followed her mother down a worn dirt path.

In Helen's hands; she clutched fifteen-cents she got from her purse, a rusted nail they had found in the bottom of the tool-box that had been in the attic for some time, and, in Norma's old and gentle hands, she held a slightly cracked shell that at one point was home to a great-great grandfather but was now empty. Norma had then said to follow her, and, one bus ride to the edge of town plus a two mile walk later, there they were walking to wherever Norma was taking her daughter.

"Oh, just be patient Helen." Norma says to her daughter with a slight tease in her tone. "Besides, I promise we're only minutes away."

"That's what you said a couple of minutes ago." Helen mumbles lowly so her mother wouldn't hear her.

Ahead, Helen thought she could see the top of a tall building, but dismissed it as a hallucination, because...who would even _consider _living in the middle of no where? Of course, as the two got closer, the building Helen thought she saw slowly came into sight.

It was a tall, white building that had random stair-cases rapping around the top portions of it. Near the top; there was also a window that had been previously boarded-up with some old wood but was now cut open. Around the house were patches of still growing green grass, and multiple Truffula Tree saplings in an array of bright colors. It then his Helen that...if saplings grew all the way out here in no-mans land...someone _had _to be taking care of them.

"Mom...who lives here?" Helen asked as she looked around at the barren landscape. Suddenly...she had this weird feeling like...she knew this place.

"You'll see soon enough, Helen." Norma says to her daughter – sounding rather quiet.

The two then walk up the steps the, and Norma knocks on the huge wooden door. From inside there; a slight rustling was heard. Soon, the door slowly opens, and, on the man who answered looked...somehow familiar to Helen.

He was tall, and, due do the many wrinkles he bared, you knew he had to be well into his Seventies or Eighties. The clothes he wore used to probably be a stunning green suit and black khaki, but were now faded to less-bold color. His hair was snow white, and, upon his face, was a scraggly-looking white mustache that look that it had been UN-kept for many years.

"Hello?" the strange person says in a rough, scratchy voice. "I'm terribly sorry, but...do I know you?"

"Oncie...it's me." Norma says in voice that almost seemed hurt. "I'm Norma." The older gentleman's face suddenly got a look of understanding, and smiles.

"Norma!" The stranger suddenly exclaims happily. "How could I _ever _forget you?" He then suddenly bends down, and the two gives each other a tight hug. Helen stood off to the side – honestly feeling a bit awkward for watching her mom hug a man she didn't even know. Soon, the two separated, and the man stood at full height once again – turning his gaze to Helen. "Oh...hi."

"...hey." Helen replied slowly.

The two stared at each other for a moment, but, eventually, the man turns back to Norma with a confused expression. "Norms...who is this?"

"Yeah mom, what's going on?" Helen added in.

"Helen, this man's name is Once-ler." Norma explains; motioning toward the tall man at the doorway. "And Once-ler, this women is named Helen. The reason I made sure you two would meet is because...well...she is you're child and he is you're father."

The two being shocked would've been underrated.

Both of their mouths were wide open, and their eyes were filled with shock. The two stared at each other once more for a great amount of time, and Helen suddenly realized...that was the reason why the man seemed familiar. He was the one she saw in her flashback earlier that day, and...he was the one who she had been trying to find out about secretly for years.

Suddenly, then two pulled each other into a hug, and Helen starts to softly cry.

The two stayed silently like that for a moment, but Once-ler suddenly speaks. "Helen...you don't know how much I've missed you. I wish I could have been there...to see you grow up...to help you take on the world...I'm so sorry sweetie..."

"Then...then why weren't you there?" Helen asked through small sobs. Soon, Once-ler then releases his daughter, and puts both of his hands firmly on her shoulder.

"Look, Helen, I promise I'll tell you anything and everything you wanna know." Once-ler promises as he looks daughter right in the eyes. He then takes his hands off his daughter's shoulder, and steps aside – gesturing them inside. "Come in; both of you. We'll talk in there." Helen briefly looks at her mother, and, after a reassuring nod, both follow him inside.

He then leads them into the kitchen, and, after taking a seat at the table, start talking.

The next hour was spent talking. Once-ler explained all about how he originally found the Truffula Forest, meeting this magical creature name "The Lorax" for the first time, and inventing this marvelous invention he called "The Thneed" that could do the job of a thousand. Sure, Helen thought it all sounded very far-fetched, but...she was beginning to expect the unexpected. Then came the moment she'd been curious about...her dad telling how he met her mom.

According to him, it had been an ordinary day of him being rejected by the towns people, he was making his way back home when...he saw her outside a coffee shop.

"We caught each others eyes, and...it was love at first sight." Once-ler explained; getting a goofy smile. "I immediately turned my cart around, and literally jumped out of it when we arrived back at the coffee shop. I introduced myself to your mother, she introduced herself, and, before I knew it, I was sitting with her – having a cup of coffee. After that, we went out a few times before officially dating, and...things just took off for us."

"Um...dad," Helen spoke up. "I hate to be rude, but...would you mind leaving out some of the more...romantic parts?"

"I actually did." Once-ler laughed slightly before continuing. "Time seemed to fly when we were dating. In a blink it seemed...we were getting married, and, even faster...we had you." The smile her father had suddenly vanished. "But...I was to blind to see all that I had, and...I did something very foolish and very, very, _very _bad."

"What did you do?" Helen asked in concern.

Once-ler's gaze was locked on the table in shame, it seemed, but then slowly speaks. "I...I cut down the whole forest to bigger my company." the following gasp from Helen almost seemed to happen on cue. Never in a million years she never would have guessed her father had done...that. "For the longest time my own greed consumed me, and I only saw what was important to me. Money was all that I saw...even you and you're mother become blurred to me." Once-ler quickly sobbed before he continued. "But...all the trees were eventually cut down, and...the land became to polluted for anyone to live on. Which...included...you two."

_~Flash Back~_

_Everything had suddenly went all to hell._

_The trees were all cut down...the land was polluted...and workers were quitting left and right and leaving the factory to head for the new "perfect" city that was just being built up the road form the factory. The worst part, however, was that people were demanding refunds for the Thneed they bought, and the company was probably only a short half-hour away from going broke._

"_This...this is terrible." Once-ler says – burring his head in his hands. "The factory's going belly-up, and all my slackers of workers jumped ship. And of course they'd leave me to drowned."_

_The tall man then groans, trying to think of a solution to this, when...a voice cut through his thinking._

"_Once?" his wife, Norma, speaks from the door-way. "Everyone's saying the last tree was cut down, and that anyone who doesn't get out now we'll be buried with the company. I just...wanted to make sure you were okay." the Once-ler sneers, and looks up at Helen._

"_Gee, I don't know." Once-ler snarks. "My whole company is going in the toilet, and my life's dream is causing tons of people to suffer. How do _you _think I'm feeling right now?"_

"_Hey, just because you're going through a bad time doesn't give you an excuse to take it out on me."_

"_Well, if you don't like the way I'm acting, them maybe you should just go like everyone else, and get the hell out of my sight!" Once-ler suddenly snaps. It took him a minute to regain control, and when he did, a knot tied itself in his stomach. Helen's expression was shocked, but...mostly...it was scared. "Helen...I'm so sorry. I...I just can't stop hurting the ones I love, can I?" Once-ler then rests his head in his hands once more, and, to his surprise, Helen came over to put a soothing hand on his shoulder._

"_Everything's going to be alright Once...you just need to keep that great optimism of yours." Helen tells him reassuringly. Once-ler then hears a cough from Norma's arms, and, when he looked down, he saw...his very sick looking little girl, Helen._

"_Is...she sick?" Once-ler asked concerned – feeling her fore-head to find it was boiling hot._

"_Yeah." Norma says sadly. "She has been for a long time. I've actually tried coming up here to tell you, but...you mother always said you were busy with meetings. Plus, you usually slept here, so...I haven't had much of a chance to see you lately."_

"_Norma...I'm so sorry." Once-ler whispers. "I would've been at you're side in a heart beat if I would've known Helen was sick. I'm...I'm a terrible father and husband. You...you deserve better them me..." Norma frowns, and tries to find the words to make Oncie feel better. But...she just couldn't think of anything. Awkward, unsettling silence fills the room, but, soon, Once-ler speaks. "You need to go."_

"_What?" Norma asks shocked._

"_You heard me..." Once-ler answers quietly. "You and Helen need to go. The smog in the air isn't healthy for either of you. And look at our little girl. Do you think she'll ever recover in this environment? So...please...go with everyone to new city their building just up ahead."_

"_Then...you're coming with me." Norma says forcibly._

"_No. I have to stay here." Once-ler tells her. "After all I've done...after all my childish actions...being locked away here is the best punishment for me." _

"_But...then...when will I see you again?"_

"_Maybe never." The Once-ler answers his wife truthfully. "But...if we ever should need to meet again...we're gonna need a system of some sort."_

"_Why?" Norma ask, not really understanding._

"_People are mad at me, Norms. Some even want me dead" Once-ler told her – not really liking to admit the fact, but feeling better for it. "So...if you ever wanna come here...just...bring...fifteen cents...um...a nail, and...the shell of a great-great-great grandfather snail." _

_Norma had honestly no idea what that meant, but...she didn't question it._

"_O...Okay." Norma says quietly before capturing Once-ler in a tight hug. "Just always remember that...I'll always love you. And no matter how long It takes...I will come back for you." the pair then shared a quick kiss, and Norma walks out of the factory. The Once-ler watched from the high window as Norma merged into a big crowd walking to new town on the horizon._

_The Once-ler wanted nothing more than to go after his true love, but...upon remembering Pipsqueaks hurt little face...stopped himself._

"_I've separated countless families by cutting down the trees." Once-ler reminded himself; a tear sliding down his right cheek. "This is what I get. Never getting to see my family will be some penitence to those I stepped over." He then quickly wiped the tear off his cheek, and watched out the window – taking in the retreating people's forms._

_Mostly because...until he heard a young boys scream many years later...he would never see another living person again. _

_~End of Flash Back~ _

"And...ever since then...I've locked myself away here; regretting everything I had done." Once-ler finally concludes. "I had many days where...I just wanted to end it all. But...the only thing keeping me relatively sane was the thought that...one day...I'd be able to see you and you're mother again."

"Well...now you can." Helen says; getting a small smile. "You can move to Thneedville with me and mom. We have plenty of room at our house."

"That's very sweet of you honey," Once-ler says while getting a smile. "But...I don't think I can leave this place. Beside...I need to make sure the saplings grow up into healthy trees. The maybe...I can see the Truffula forest at it's finest one last time before I move onto the next world." Helen didn't really feel comfortable hearing her dad talk like that, but...she wasn't going to question his reasoning.

"Alright...if you say so."

The two then went to another topic, and, for the next half-hour, talked non-stop. But, unfortunately, all good things have to come to an end. Sooner then both of them would have liked; Helen and Once-ler were sharing a tight good-bye hug at the door.

"I can still...come visit you...right?" Helen asks, sniffling slightly.

"Of course, pumpkin." Once-ler replies. The two stay embraced a moment longer, but then detached from each other. Norma, who had been watching the two silently the whole trip, then smiles and waves her daughter to go on ahead.

"Go get a head start honey." Norma insists. "I'll only be a minute."

"Okay." Helen says before walking off down the dusty path she had originally came there on. As soon as Helen was out off sight; Norma turns to her husband.

"So, still think you're a bad father?" Norma asks a bit teasingly.

"Okay, so maybe it was the moment that made me say that." Once-ler admits with a slight giggle. "But, in all fairness...you raised her well. I'm just sorry I wasn't there to help you raise her." Norma giggled a bit, and, unexpected, hugs Once-ler tightly. The lanky man hugs back, and, when they separate, Once-ler sees a teasing-like smirk on Norma's face. "What is it?"

"Nothing...I just realized something." Norma says, beginning to walk down the same path her mother went down. "Sooner or later, you'll have to break it to Ted you're his grandfather." this makes the Once-ler laugh, and he calls out after his wife.

"Lets just keep it one heart-felt reunion at a time, Norms."


End file.
